Health Professions

For Students Interested in the Health Professions

Over its long history, the College of the Holy Cross has maintained an excellent record in preparing students for entrance to medical, dental, veterinary, and other health professional schools. A student may complete a major in any discipline at Holy Cross and fulfill all the requirements for admission to medical, dental and other health professional schools. Health professions is not a major, minor, or concentration and has no graduation requirements. A student should select a major which corresponds to his or her qualifications and interests and not assume that a science major gives any advantage to health professional school applicants.

Different health professional schools have different requirements; some like allopathic and osteopathic medical schools and dental school have largely identical requirements while the requirements of other programs like those for nurse practitioner, physician assistant and pharmacy training are not standardized. The requirements of these diverse programs are discussed below but can be explored in detail from the links to health professional associations listed under the Online Resources menu item on the left.

It needs to be emphasized that most medical students nationally and at Holy Cross apply to medical school after graduation from college.  Students simply need the time to make this enormous decision and amass the record that will result in a successful application. Holy Cross offers lifetime advising and application support for all of its students and alumni.

For all students

A health professions advisor will be happy help a student develop a plan to meet requirements for the various health professions graduate schools, e.g., medical school, veterinary school, nursing school, etc. All students (and alumni) are encouraged to speak to the Health Professions Advisor or Associate Advisor for advice in gaining entrance to a graduate health professional school.

Students in the class of 2013, 2014, and 2015

Students interested in the health professions should apply to the Health Professions Advising Committee. Acceptance by the committee gives a student priority for enrolling in the appropriate required courses for medical school. Students who have not yet been accepted by the committee may enroll in open courses and apply to the committee during the second semester of any year. Students should watch for the announcement e-mail or contact the Health Professions Office in mid spring semester.

Students in the class of 2016 and thereafter

Medical School

In addition, there will be a new section called "Critical Analysis and Reasoning" which will require students to understand and apply information in reading passages from a variety of disciplines, including ethics, philosophy, and social sciences, but does not assume specific knowledge of these disciplines. Students may consider taking a course in ethics to fulfill their philosophy requirement.

When planning courses, students should also examine requirements for individual medical schools; a growing number of medical schools require biochemistry and statistics before 2015, for example. In addition, we have developed the Medical School Application Primer to aid your thinking through course selections for basic sciences over four years at Holy Cross. The Biology Department also has a useful page of advice for students seeking admission to medical school, including a list of additional courses which may be helpful.

Holy Cross has an articulated agreement with Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) through their Early Assurance Program (EAP). Students who meet certain requirements may apply to the TUSM EAP in the spring semester of their sophomore year to be guaranteed placement in the medical school class after graduation. Holy Cross also has a similar EAP arrangement with Albany Medical College. Students may also apply to EAP programs at SUNY-Buffalo School of Medicine and SUNY-Upstate Medical College. Applying to medical school is a very difficult decision for a second-year student to make, so any student considering this option should meet with the Associate Health Professions Advisor (or the Health Professions Advisor) to discuss these programs.

Dental school

Standard requirements for dental school and the DAT are similar to the pre-2015 requirements for medical school. However, many dental schools also require a course in biochemistry and some require additional coursework.

Veterinary medical school

Most veterinary schools have requirements similar to medical school (see above) though often have additional required coursework in biochemistry, microbiology, social sciences, and humanities.  In addition, veterinary schools require applicants to have significant experience working with small and large animals.  The veterinary school association website (http://aavmc.org/) has links to individual veterinary schools which list individual requirements.

Nurse practitioner (NP) and Physician Assistant (PA) programs

Holy Cross does not offer a pathway for a student to graduate and become a registered nurse without earning an additional degree elsewhere. However, many students apply to graduate nursing programs to gain a master’s degree or doctorate in nursing and earn a nurse practitioner’s (NP) license after graduating from Holy Cross. Nursing programs vary considerably in requirements.  While the coursework is somewhat similar to medical schools (see above), most do not require physics or a second semester of organic chemistry, but do require coursework in human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, nutrition, social sciences and statistics. Students may need to take some coursework away from Holy Cross, for example through the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. Students may take one course per semester through a Consortium school as part of Holy Cross tuition.

Physician assistant programs have similar requirements to NP programs (though like NP programs vary from school to school) but also often require extensive clinical work before application.  Holy Cross has a linkage with the physician assistant program at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) in Worcester and can assist with applications to other physician assistant programs.

Doctor of Pharmacy

Doctor of Pharmacy programs provide training for licensed pharmacists. While requirements are not standardized, they are similar to medical school (see above) often with additional coursework in microbiology and statistics. Holy Cross has a linkage with Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) in Worcester for the accelerated doctor of pharmacy program and can assist with applications to other graduate pharmacy programs.

Other health professional programs

Holy Cross offers support and advice for students seeking entry into such health fields as podiatry, optometry, physical therapy, public health, speech and language pathology, and many others.  The advisors can assist in making a plan to meet the requirements for entry into such professional schools.

Andrew Futterman, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Health Professions Advisor

Miles Cahill, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
Associate Health Professions Advisor

Please note: The Premedical and Predental Programs (Premed) Committee was renamed the Health Professions Advising Committee in 2009.